Burning Spirits
by Kottako
Summary: Sakura promised Sasuke she would do anything for him... even betray Konoha.
1. Only You

**Author's Note: Hey guys this is my first Naruto fic so I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, if I did... well that would be bad... so we wont even go there :)  
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Chapter One**

**Only You**

It was a warm sunny day but Sakura was in a different world. She was sitting on a bench in the lower district of Konoha lazily watching Yamato rebuild the village building by building. Naruto was being confined to the village by a mandate enacted at the summit of the Kages, and Kakashi was trapped in the administration building. Sai was assigned to act as Naurto's body guard, and neither boy seemed to be very happy about the arrangement. Sakura was the only member of team seven that was free to move around, but she had decided that this was unwanted freedom.

She felt bad for sitting around while the rest of the village worked hard to return Konoha to it's former splendor, but she had been told not to get involved with the efforts. It was her job to care for Tsunade since Shizune had been reassigned to the front lines, but old women in comas really cause too many problems. All Sakura needed to do was leave her phone on at night and check her Shishou's charts in the evening. Her days had been reduced to sitting at home with nothing to do but ponder latest confrontation with Sasuke. She was upset with her inability to effect the Uchiha and his reckless spiral into the dark side. It was a depressing topic for Sakura, to say the least, and her chronic gloominess was amplified by a bad case of cabin fever. As hard as she tried Sakura could not hide her unhappiness, her friend could tell she was upset and they were doing everything in their power to make her feel better, but their efforts only made things worse. She hated being dependent on them and chastised herself for relying on their charity.

Yamato stopped building and joined Sakura on the bench. she wordlessly handed him a water bottle and went back to her lonely thoughts.

"Sakura," Yamato piped up after watching her for a second, "I know you've heard this a thousand times, but its not your fault. No one expects you to shoulder this responsibility all by yourself."

Sakura shook her head, bowing to stare intently at her knees, "No, I should have kept him from leaving," she sniffed before continuing, "that night when Sasuke left I should have stopped him. Had Naruto ,or even Kakashi, been there maybe Sasuke would have listened to them. Maybe they would have done something to stop him, but I fell for his trick and let him put me to sleep with that damn Sharingan!"

Sakura was really trying hard to keep her tears from spilling. She had never told anyone about her rin in with Sasuke on that night so long ago. She had been too ashamed to tell Naruto; she was afraid he would think she was weak or stupid, and nothing could have been worse than having _Naruto,_ of all people, call her stupid. She hadn't told Kakashi because she assumed he already knew. He had carried her home after discovering her on the bench where Sasuke left her.

Yamato had listened patiently, when she finished he handed her a tissue and placed a gentle, comforting hand on her back.

"Sakura you tried, you have to give yourself credit for trying. You can't just put yourself down because you think Kakashi or Naruto might have succeeded. You'll never know if they could have done any better or not, they weren't there, but you were. And you tired. It's on Sasuke's ball field now, if he had wanted to listen to anyone, you would have been as good as anyone, if not better, but his ears were closed to everyone. Sakura, it was out of your control and I am really truly sorry for that.

Sakura couldn't respond, she just sat on the bench shaking as Yamato tried desperately to comfort her.

"Sakura, you haven't been yourself, I know its hard to see someone you care about sink into the darkness."

Sakura nodded, she was grateful to her caption for his caring words and kind gesture, and didn't want to make him feel like he was doing something wrong.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to keep you from you work." Sakura looked up, she had managed to hold her tears in, but they were welled up in her eyes giving them a glassy look. Yamato noticed this and had to fight the urge to hug his younger team mate.

"No Sakura, you didn't trouble me at all," he gave her a sincere smile, "why don't you go see if Kakashi needs some help. That poor man may be a shinobi genius, but he is clueless when it comes to running a village. You spent so much time around Tsunade you might be a big help to him. That sorry fool won't request an assistant , perhaps you could offer," Yamato gave Sakura's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "maybe it will give you something to take you mind off it."

Yamato had smartly substituted "it" for "sasuke" knowing the very mention of the missing nin's name would abolish all the work he had done trying to make Sakura feel better. In honor of his efforts Sakura forced a small smile and gave a quick nod.

"Thats a girl" Yamato stood up, finished his water bottle and rolled up his sleeves, "well, its back to work. Perhaps I'll get to your mom's house today. That way she won't have an excuse to stay at your place."

Sakura couldn't help but smile at this idea, "Now do you see why I moved out the day I turned sixteen?"

Yamato nodded, "That woman is a monster who hates ninja with a burning passion."

Sakura gave a little giggle that was stifled by tears hanging in the back of her throat. The only sound that actually made it out of her mouth was a sort of snort followed by a high pitched hiccup.

Yeah, sorry about that, I wanted to do something nice for the team by having dinner at my place, but my mom kinda screwed that over," Sakura's cheeks colored at the embarrassing memory of dinner at her apartment. It was still a sourly fresh memory, and her mother's caustic words were clear in her mind.

"For shinobi you boys have good manners," she had said and then continued before Sakura was able to stop her, "Well you guys may be well mannered, but I never wanted my Sakura to because a barbaric killer." Sakura's mother's gaze had practically burned a hole though kakashi's forehead protector. Sakura's mom had always blamed Kakashi for Sakura becoming a shinobi. The own woman had been convinced her daughter would have given up if not for her laid back Sensei. Sakura had shot her poor old teacher an apologetic look before pushing her mother out of the room muttering, "Mom!, that is now way to treat the hokage, let alone that man that has made ma a successful ninja!"

Yamato, Kakashi, Sai and Naruto had stood around the dinning room table, awkwardly listening to the shouting match that had ensued. Kakashi and Yamato had winced when they heard Sakura's mother scream, "Your father supported you but I never did. I always believed you would be better off marrying into a rich family that could provide for you! Kunoichi never amount to anything but a bunch of hors! I mean look at that Tsunade woman, all she ever did for the for the village was spur on men's fantasies with those watermelon breasts of hers! What good was she from Konoha?"

At this point Mrs. Haruno paused to breathe, Said had to move faster than lighting to restrain Naruto from running into the kitchen. Kakashi and Yamato had exchanged a look and thats when Sakura very calmly, though not very collectedly said to her mother,

"Mother, we are all entitled to our beliefs, but Tsunade-Shissou is a great woman and my friends are standing out side that paper door. I will not allow you to say such things about my friends in my house." With that she had emerged and just looked at the faces in front of her.

"Hey, don't worry about her," Yamato smiled sheepishly, breaking her flashback. Sakura just stared at him, "your mom just wants to make sure you're happy."

"Right, well I guess I'll see ya later," she said after a short silence.

"See you later Sakura, cheer up, ok?"

"Yeah" she said quietly as she turned around and made her way to the administration building.

Kakashi was sitting behind a big red desk wearing the ceremonial robes that Sakura hadn't seen since the third hokage ruled the village. Tsunade had worn them once for the Chunin exams, but even then the robes had been different, more lady like. Perhaps there were a different set of attire rules for Hokages of the male gender. It was weird for Sakura to see him in these robes, and she absently wondered where he kept all his hair under that visor. Maybe he had actually combed his hair for once.

The man in question looked up from a particularly dull looking stack of paperwork as Sakura walked further into the familiar room. Kakashi's face lit up at the sight of her. Well it didn't really _light up_, but it lifted in a way that conveyed relief and joy. Over the years Sakura had learned that the slight upturn of his uncovered eye was Kakashi's equivalent of jumping for joy.

"Sakura, what brings you to my not so humble new abode?" he asked.

"No offense Kakashi-Sensei but this place doesn't suit you." Sakura walked over to a large bookshelf that contained Tsunade's collection of medical encyclopedias. They hadn't been moved yet. Sakura took a closer look at the office. More than half of Tsunade's things were still haphazardly strewn around the room. The rest was packed in boxes waiting to be assigned a destination, but nobody really knew where to put the stuff since no one knew how long Tsunade would be out for.

A sad smile graced Sakura's lips when her gaze stopped on the poster of male reproductive anatomy on which Tsunade had drawn a circle around and slashed a line thought it. Next to this poster was a picture of Jarayah with the very same symbol over his face and a warning in large print, "Never under any circumstances allow this man near you!" It was too bad that the warning held no real value anymore. Poor Jarayah was a pervert no more, and that thought alone depressed Kakashi. Who had mourned Jirayah's death as the end of Icha Icha.

Kakashi had sensed Sakura's darkening mood and decided to cut in before her thoughts could take her too far.

" I know it's different, but I'm confident she'll come back and when she does I'l be happy to give her back this hat." Kakashi took of the hat. Sakura's previous question about his hair had been answered, and to her great disappointment his hair remained stubbornly shafted to one side. She had always been curious about his hair, finding out how long it was, was almost as big a mystery as his face.

Sakura shook her head, "I doubt it," she crossed the room and picked up a small flask of hot pink draught, "The diamond on her forehead is the key to her eternal youth technique. If it ever disappeared she would not only become old, but her chances of death would multiply tenfold."

Kakashi took the flask out of her hand and put it back in the box, "don't worry so much. Tsunade is a strong woman, she pull though."

Sakura hoped her Sensei was right.

"Anyway, why did you come to visit me?" he asked, "not that I don't enjoy your company. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't something urgent."

"Oh!" Sakura said taken aback, she hadn't thought Kakashi would think about those sorts of things, "Yamato Taichou suggested that I come and see if I could help you out some."

Kakashi's uncovered eye lifted to the sky, "I thought you'd never ask."

"Well if you wanted my help you should have just asked."

Kakashi put a hand behind his head and smiled shyly, "I would have but you've been so down lately, I thought maybe you needed some time to yourself..."

Sakura gave her Sensei a big smile, "You know me better than that, sensei. Just admit you were too stubborn to ask for help, because you know that 'alone time' only makes things worse for me."

"Ok, ok, you got me. How on earth did you learn to read me so easily?" he asked pleasantly.

"It's not that hard Kakashi-Sensei, I may not fully understand you, but I know you well enough to tell when you're lying."

"Perhaps I need to change that... but I must defend myself, I can lye very well when I want to, not even you would know that I was lying."

Sakura laughed, "Sure sensei, I think what you'd like."

"I will thank you." The two just stood in the office staring at each other awkwardly for a moment.

"In any case, could you explain disintermediation? While your at it you might as well explain unemployment, taxes, price ceilings, price floors, factions, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera."

Sakura sighed but a smile was plastered on her lips.

"Kakashi-sensei, do you even know what _Hokage_ means?"

Kakashi stared at her blankly, "Uh...no..."

Sakura face palmed, "Sensei, you're hopeless." Sakura sat down in one of the small, but comfortable arm chairs in front of Kakashi's desk. He followed suit taking his place in the tall intimidating red chair opposite of her. He replaced his hat and posed in a very thoughtful way; his fingers laced together his chin resting on top of them, his eyes intent on Sakura.

"Well Sakura-sensei, teach me everything you know about politicks. I'm listening."

Sakura smiled and got down to business. Every once in a while she would get up and cross the room to a chalk board that had been Tsunade's. There she would draw a graph and instruct Kakashi to watch her with the Sharingan. Hours passed in this fashion, and though Kakashi's comprehension of political topics was abysmal Sakura didn't mind taking extra time to explain a few of the harder subjects. She was just happy to have something to do, other than think about Sasuke.

The two had been at their lessons for close to three hours when Kakashi held up his hand to stop. Sakura quit talking and stared at him inquisitively.

"My life is about to start sucking really bad..."

Sakura blinked at him and gaped. Kakashi snapped to his senses quickly noticing the onset of a Sakura tantrum.

"No it's not you!" he amended. The door opened without warning and two elderly people walked in. Sakura knew instantly why Kakashi had suddenly adopted and air of extreme melancholic. Sakura was aquatinted with the couple who had barged in so rudely, but she couldn't say her experiences with these people were pleasant. She had actually seen them quite often while under Tsunade's tutelage. Mostly they yelled a lot, and when they weren't yelling they were making impossible demands or suggesting ludicrous decrees. _They _were the council elders, and they were not happy to have the son of White-Fang-Hatake running the village. In fact they would have sooner given their own lives to resurrect Danzou than elect Kakashi as Konoha's rokudame. Luckily such matters were not in the hands of these two pompous idiots.

Sakura had turned toward the door and bowed politely, she then turned back to Kakashi and gave him an apologetic look. He returned her expression with one of fake interest.

"Council-men, how may I help you?"

The woman's face looked as if she had tasted something sour, "We have gained some very important information on a matter of national security."

Kakashi looked at the elders expectantly; urging them to continue. The elders stared back at Kakashi and shifted their burning gazes onto Sakura.

"It is a matter I don't feel safe discussing in front of her." the council woman continued. Her voice was sharp and unkindly, conveying the fact that she despised all things related to Sasuke and the Kyuubi. Unfortunately for Sakura she was involved with both matters and so had been a target for the council elder's distaste for quite some time. For a moment a surge of raged boiled though Sakura, but with a mysterious spurt of will power and a good bit of effort she was able to suppress her inner shouting.

Kakashi opened his mouth to defend his newly selected assistant, but Sakura cut him off before he could begin.

"Of course, I was just leaving. I am needed in the Hospital anyway." She smiled at Kakashi; assuring him that she would return later. She bowed to the elders, "good evening," then turned back to Kakashi, "Hokage-sama."

Calling Kakashi "Hokage-sama" didn't feel right. It was a title she had reserved for the Third. Tsunade had been Shissou, Kakashi is sensei, and Naruto would always be Naruto, even when he became Hokage. Sakura shut the door behind her, leaving Kakashi to feel vulnerable to the penetrating glares of the people standing before him.

"You dismissed my assistant," Kakashi pouted, attempting to lighten the mood. It didn't work.

"You don't have an assistant." The councilwoman reminded him.

"I'm hiring Sakura as soon as we finish here."

The councilman frowned, "That may be your best decision yet, but..."

Kakashi cut him off, "but what? She spent over two years as Tsunade;s apprentice, but what? She is one of the most intelligent Kunoichi in Konoha, she has a sharp and analytical mind, but she is friends with Naruto and you hate everything even remotely related to the Kyuubi!" Kakashi had actually gotten mad. the councilman listened patiently while his counter part rolled her eyes.

When Kakashi had finished the councilman began again, "No, it's not that, we're fine with you hiring her as an assistant, is just you may need to wait."

Kakashi fell silent.

"The matter of National security concerns Sasuke."

Kakashi's eyes widened, "My apologies, please continue."

The councilman nodded and the councilwoman proceeded without acknowledging that Kakashi had even spoken.

"We have reason to believe that he is in league with the Akatsuki, and may be targeting Konoha."

Kakashi gave a thoughtful nod while his mind wondered back to his recent encounter with the fiery young Uchiha.

He had stood there and watched, almost frozen to his spot as Sakura had desperately tried to end her former partner's life. Kakashi could remember thinking that it was his job to do what his students were attempting to, but he couldn't move he was horror stuck by the scene that was playing out in front of his all seeing eye. He knew that Sakura was strong and had she attempted that maneuver on anyone else she would have achieved her goal, but Sasuke was Stronger. Kakashi had watched, terrified that he had come too late as Naruto jumped in and saved her. He could recall the terrible threats that Sasuke made. All of which had been controlled by hatred. The flashback caused a shiver to run up his back.

"Now that you know the truth about Itatchi, I am sure you will understand our apprehension on this matter," the council woman continued, "we are afraid that Sasuke had decided to turn on Konoha completely."

Kakashi sighed and nodded. He didn't like where this was going.

"We cannot turn a blind eye any longer Kakashi, we understand that you may not agree with us on this, but surely you recognize that Sasuke is, indeed, a threat that must be taken care of." The councilman concluded the point, but Kakashi got the feeling they weren't finished yet.

"We are going to leave it up to you. You are free to teal with this however you want to , but it must be taken care of quickly. The other Kages, aside from Gara, are worried that Sasuke may start another war."

Kakashi nodded again, "I will assign a team to hunt him down."

"I don't think it will be that easy. As you know first hand, Sasuke's only match in strength is Naruto and his only match in wit is Shikamaru. However, neither one is available."

"I understand that, and I realize that the team I select will have to be carefully planned. What I don't see is how this is going to prevent me from hiring Sakura."

"Were getting to that." The councilwoman shot at Kakashi impatiently.

"Itatchi left us with some very important information about Sasuke," the councilman clarified, "he explained that Sasuke had always favored on person, and had kept it a secret because she wasn't a part of the Uchiha clan."

Kakashi drew a blank at this piece of information. Sasuke had liked someone in Konoha? The boy who was a relative brick wall to all his fan girls, most of whom had grown into very attractive young women, had actually liked someone in Konoha?

"That cant be true Itatchi musth have been talking about the wrong little brother."

"Sasuke was Itatchi's _only_ brother." the councilwoman said, sounding a little annoyed.

"It was a joke," Kakashi deadpanned, "but I should have known you wouldn't catch that.... anyway go on."

"Yes... right," the councilman proceeded, "Itatchi updated us again shortly before he died to inform us that Sasuke still fancies this girl. Lucky for us she is a very capable Kunoichi."

"Noooo," Kakashi whispered as the puzzle pieces clicked together, "That girl is Sakura, isn't it?"

Kakashi had to admit his first pick had not been Sakura. Even if she was the most capable young kunoichi in all of Konoha, she couldn't possibly have been the object of Sasuke's fancy. At first and image of Hinata had popped into his head. Although when he got to thinking about it, it made sense. Sasuke had been hard on Sakura, but he had always been there to protect her. More than once he had jumped in front of her to block a Kunai she had missed, or risk his life to safe her from falling off a cliff. Kakashi had seen him falter that day on the hospital roof when Sakura had ran between him and Naruto. Kakashi had noticed it with his Sharingan and written it off as in-experience with the Rikiri, but now that he reanalyzed the situation he must have been worried about hurting Sakura. With all this new evidence the councilman's words became more believable. It explained why Sasuke had slowed down the other day when he figured out that Sakura was his attacker. It explained why he had let Naruto stop him from killing her when Kakashi knew he would have been fast enough to finish the execution. It explained why Sakura had been able to attack Sasuke Uchiha multiple times and live to tell the tale.

"So I assume you want me to put Sakura on this assignment?" he asked.

"Precisely," the councilman confirmed.

Kakashi drew in a long breath, releasing it in a short huff. He removed his visor and ran his hand though his hair; leaning back in his chair. His hands fell back to his side as he tilted his head to the sky and closed his eyes.

"We understand that, as her teacher, you may have some reservations about sending her on this mission alone - "

"ALONE!" kakashi roared sitting up in alarm, "you never said said anything about sending her alone!"

"What had you assumed?"

"I was assuming I would send and Anbu assassination unit and tag Sakura on to help lure Sasuke out."

"Kakashi, hadn't we already decided it would be more complicated than that?"

"I thought you were going to leave the tactical decisions up to me."

"In the end you make all the final decisions, Kakashi, we're just here to advise you, and you obviously need it," the councilwoman interjected. She had been silent for a while, but now her caustic words once again entered the conversation.

"What the council woman means" the councilman jumped in to once again smooth over his partner's flub up, "is that it might be best to send Sakura alone so shie could infiltrate."

Kakashi frowned, it was a good point, but he didn't like the idea of sending Sakura out on her own. She was still only sixteen-years-old. Besides infiltrating the Akatsuki would involve betraying Konoha, even if it was only for a disguise. Kakashi could see this mission having some long term effects that might destroy some of Sakura's relationships for good. Especially when they concerned team seven. Kakashi didn't hate the heart to ask her to do something so drastic.

"We will give you twenty-four hours to consider it. We'll be back tomorrow for your answer. Ask Sakura tonight and if she agrees we'll allow you to brief her tomorrow evening."

Kakashi just nodded and waited for his advisors to excuse themselves.

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Sakura hesitantly covered the distance between the administration building and the hospital. she was always anxious to see what tsunade's state was. She never stopped worrying that her condition would become critical. Sakura walked though the automatic sliding doors that opened into the main entrance. She was greeted by the nurses behind the front desk. She by passed the crowed in the Emergency unit and made her way into the back hallways of the restricted access zone. She was continuously seeing people who stopped to say hello, causing her progression though the hospital to slow down. When she finally made it up to the coma ward twenty minuets had already passed since she had left Kakashi's office.

Sakura pushed open the door to Tsunade's room. Pale blue curtains covered the fourth floor windows. Flowers from friends and concerned villages littered every space that wasn't occupied by medical equipment. The blooms were replenished daily and Sakura found that she was greeted by a different floral sent every day. Tsunade was peaceful, as she had been that morning. Sakura read her pulse chart and checked the pink clipboard that hung at the foot of the bed. She sighed off and marked the time, noting that the nurses had emptied the bed pan and changed the IV drip.

Sakura glanced at her watch and decided to wait a while longer before heading back to the administration building. She entertained herself by arranging the flowers. She finished and pulled a chair between two large pots that had been set on the floor. She leaned foreword resting her elbows on her knees and propping her head up on her hands. For a while she just watched the resting woman. She surveyed the little changes in Tsunade's appearance. Her once youthful face now had small wrinkles in the corners of her eyes. Her blond hair seemed duller and her very large and noticeable breasts sagged to a very unnoticeable degree. Perhaps the latter change could be attributed to the unflattering hospital robe.

Sakura sighed. Her thought drifting off to her time spent studying under Tsunade. She closed her eyes and tried to recall particular memories of her Shissou. She thought about all the things she learned, being extra careful to remember the details about coma cases. It was a futile effort. Sakura had spent hours with Shuzune locked away with every medical book in Tsunade's library, but none of the methods they learned had helped. Sakura eventually suggested that they might have been looking in the wrong books. She thought that the books Tsunade had used to develop her jutsu may have been more help. Shizune had agreed and the two women had set out in search of said volume. It took the girls three days just to get an idea of what they were looking for.

When they finally discovered the title of the the mythical book they despairingly discovered that it had gone up in flames when Oorachimaru torched that section of the restricted library. the record keeper brightened their spirits when he told them there was another copy, but crushed their hopes promptly when he revealed its location. Since the summit of the kages ending in disaster, thanks to the one-and-only Danzou of Anbu Root, it probably wouldn't blow over well with Kirigakure to waltz in and request a highly classified book. So the two girls gave up hope.

Sakura sighed and pushed her bangs back with her Hitiate. Kakashi had tried to supply the girl with all the time he could, but finally he ran out of time to lend them and was forced to reassign Shizune. Sakura glanced at the clock again, only fifteen minutes had passed.

"Oh Shissou, won't you please wake up? she pleaded out loud, "Poor Kakashi is Hokage now and that man doesn't know friend from foe unless they are holding some sort of weapon."

Tsunade remained completely unresponsive.

"Perhaps you don't want to hear about those sorts of things."

Sakura let the room fall silent once again. She just looked at her master's peaceful face.

"Kakashi id driving his Anbu guards mad," Sakura started again, for some reason she thought that telling Tsunade about her friend might bring her back to Earth, "he pulls some top rank tricks on them and escapes for a while. Yamato is talking about leaving Anbu. He says he wants to become a sensei... Naruto is stronger than ever, but the summit of Kages won't allow him to leave the village... Sai is... well you know. Absorbed in those silly psychology books. His nicknames for people have been getting more and more absurd with each day. He smiled last week and for the first time I think he actually knew what he was feeling. Shizune has been assigned to do other things, I believe she is on the front lines. So it's just me. My mom is staying at my place and I've been doing as much as I can to help rebuild the village..."

"Oh! I almost forgot, well you probably already know this, but Naruto's dad was the 4th Hokage... I had kind of figured as much... I mean they look alike...." Sakura trailed off, "why isn't his last name Namikaze? Who is is mother?"

Tsunade didn't answer.

"Right... well I guess I had better get going. Kakashi needs me to finish teaching him about politics."

Sakura stood up and left, closing the door behind her then made her way back to the administration building. She found Kakashi where she had left him. The Council Elders were gone.

"Why hello again," Kakashi said as she walked into the office. His voice was not enthusiastic at all and he had a scowl on his face.

"What's wrong?"

Kakashi looked up at her, his uncovered eye narrowed into a sad smile.

"We're going to have to continue these lessons later, I have another mission I need you to do..."

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I hope you liked it!!! So if it was good, bad, or ugly let me know, but please no flames. No one thinks your cool when you flame an author.... I am however, open to constructive critisism and compliments!!!

PS. I know the grammar is a bit messy, I was anxious to get this posted, so in the next few days I'll comb it the best I can, but gramar is not my strong suit!

~ Kottako


	2. Sakura's Resolve

**Chapter Two**

**Sakura's Resolve

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Sakura was standing in front of Kakashi's desk, patiently waiting for him to reveal the details of this mysterious new mission he had for her. She had been staring at him for close to a minuet now, and he still hadn't said anything.

"What is it?" she asked again growing more and more impatient.

Kakashi frowned.

"What?" pressed Sakura self consciously.

"I'm just worried about sending you on this mission, and not for anything you are probably going to be very, very opposed to it."

"You can't say that for sure," sakura said, "I don't even know what it is yet."

"Right," he began hesitantly, "if you don't want to do this you can refuse it and I can try to find some one else."

Sakura scowled at him, "Kakashi! I am a kunoichi it is my job to do this sort of thing!"

Kakashi sighed and motioned for her to take a seat. She complied and prepared for one of Kakashi's laconic briefings. Even though she got the feeling this was not going to be one of his usual short mission run troughs. From the way Kakashi was beating around the bush she figured it was going to be a complicated mission. Sakura had been hoping for one of these because it would take her mind further away from her lost Uchiha.

"The council wants you to infiltrate the Akatsuki, gather information about Madara. That will involve getting close to Sasuke and the council thinks he will trust you. Once you've gathered all the information they want, you will get the orders to kill Sasuke and get the hell out of dodge."

Sakura's heart skipped a beat or two and then fell into the pit of her stomach. She did NOT like the sound of this mission.

"I just made an attempt on his life, the hell Sasuke will trust me!" she argued.

Kakashi held up his hand and sakura calmed herself.

"Apparently the council knows more than we do, because I thought the same thing."

"I won't be able to get close enough to kill him, let alone infiltrate the Akatsuki. They'll have me killed when they hear me coming."

"I don't believe that Sakura, I'm not asking you to do this, but I'm sure you could pull it off. All you would need to do is put on a convincing act. Tell Sasuke you've betrayed Konoha and decided to join him. Tell him that you attempt to murder him was a mistake, or that you were under the influence of some kind of drug. Then you prove that you will be useful to the Akatsuki, which shouldn't be too hard. You're a very skilled young woman."

Sakura glared at Kakashi.

"I not saying that I want you to do that. You know I don't want to see Sasuke end up like the rest of his clan, but there are things about his family you don't know yet, and I can't tell you. Sakura I really wish I could because it might be helpful, but it would give the council elders and excuse to sack me, and the village can't afford another one of their picks."

Kakashi was surprised to find that she wasn't glaring at him anymore, her gaze had shifted to the floor and she was now doing something much worse than glaring. She was crying, and he had been the one to cause these tears. A dagger shot though his heart and he scrambled to fix what he had done.

"Sakura you are the best Kunoichi in the Village, I trust you with my life, thats the only reason I don't see another way."

The tears still fell, Kakashi couldn't find words so he just sat there awkwardly.

"If I-I we-re the b-best Kunoichi in then I wouldn't have any reservations about the missions I take." she stammered though her tears.

"Thats not true," Kakashi protested, "I would never consider someone who just blindly followed orders a strong ninja."

Sakura looked up and wiped the tears from her eyes, Kakashi had bowed his head, "I made that mistake before and it cost me the life of my best friend," he admitted. His voice shook and Sakura could tell it was the first time he had said that to someone in a long time, perhaps even the first time.

"I'm sorry sensei, I should try to be stronger." Sakura said she crossed around the desk to hug Kakashi.

"No Sakura," he whispered, "I just asked you to find someone you're trying to forget, I just thew salt into a bleeding wound. Sakura I asked you to murder the one person that you are in love with, how can you possibly take that with a smile and run with it. I would be upset if you didn't get angry with me, because it takes a lot more strength to let your emotions show."

Sakura released her sensei.

"I didn't know your mom felt that way about ninja." Kakashi admitted, "that night I found you on the bench I had taken you home. Your father answered the door and invited me in. I carried you up to your room and then you father gave me a drink and asked me all sorts of questions about your progress," Kakashi's eye crinkled into a small smile, "he was so proud of you Sakura. I can't imagine how hard it was when he died, and I didn't even see you falter when he did. I never even knew that you had to deal with your mom. You came to work every morning with a big smile, and when Naruto left and you were done about the distraction of Team 7 you ceased the moment and focused on your training so you could become stronger."

Sakura was now standing with her fists balled at her sides. Large sloppy tears were sliding off her chin. Kakashi stood up and caught her in another comforting hug.

"I'll do it." she said though gritted teeth.

Kakashi released her out of surprise.

"I'll do it," she announced again. Her voice was strong and confident.

"Are you sure?" Kakashi asked tenderly.

"Of course I am!" she replied.

The promise Naruto had made to her years ago in the hospital was bouncing around in her head. She drew on the determination it gave her and her tears stopped falling.

"Ok..." kakashi said softly, "come back and tell me if you still want to do this tomorrow. I have a feeling this is going to affect you more than you think. Depending on you handle this mission you could end up pitting the entire village against you."

Sakura looked a little queasy, she knew that she would probably have to make it look like she was betraying the village in order to get the rest of the Akatsuki to believe her and that meant making the village believe she was betraying them.

"Of course it would only be temporary," Kakashi added quickly, "take the twenty-four hours Sakura, I don't want to ask you to do something this... detrimental without letting you think about it first."

"Ok sensei... I'll see you tomorrow." Sakura bowed her head and turned to leave. Kakashi stared after her with a concerned expression playing across the visible portions of his face.

Sakura just wanted to walk straight home, without interruption, cook her mother dinner, assuming she was still there, and then go to bed before anyone could change her mind. But when did Sakura ever go anywhere without being interrupted?

"Sakura!"

Sakura sighed and continued walking.

"Sakura! Sakura!" Ino called. She had caught Sakura in her tractor beam and the other girl stopped walking and turned to face her friend.

"Yes Ino?" she asked.

"It's Friday night and I was just headed over to the club to meet Naruto and the rest of the gang. You should really come!" Ino was out of breath but she hid it with the fine tuned skill of a ninja, "Neji, Sai, Shikamaru, and Chouji are already there with Naruto. Hinata is going to come later, but she had some stuff to finish up at home! Besides she has to take some time to work up the courage to confront Naruto. How much do you want to bet she'll chicken out again?"

Sakura rolled her eyes and turned to continue home, "I would love to Ino, but I was actually heading home, my mom is there and...."

"You're mom went home this afternoon, Yamato made it a point to finish her house today, besides you need to get out and life a little!"

"Al the more reason for me to head home." Sakura replied, she was a little wary of Ino's plans to make her live a little, "besides I have to clean the house. My mom is such a pig sometimes."

Ino sighed and grabbed ahold of her friend's shoulders, "My god Sakura, when did you become such a prick?" Sakura had been avoiding her friend's eyes but they caught hers and began to bore holes into her brian, "If I managed to forget Sasuke you can too! All you need is some Saki!"

"Alright, alight," Sakura acquiesced, "I'll go with you."

The blonde girl squealed and snatched her friend up in a tight hug, "I knew you would see things my way!"

"Did I have any choice?" Sakura mumbled running her face away from her friend.

"What?" Ino asked jubilantly.

"N-nothing!" Sakura stammered, allowing herself to be pulled along by the wrist.

The night club was hopping with ninja of all ranks and ages, but the majority of the people there were the chunin who had just reached the legal age. Ninja were allowed to drink when they turned sixteen, but civilians had to wait until they turned eighteen. At first this rule had seemed strange to Sakura, but Kakashi had explained it to her at her party.

"By the time most ninja turn sixteen," he began explaining turning his head slightly to make sure Sakura's mother didn't hear him, "they've seen their fair share of horrors. There is no better way to cure post traumatic stress syndrome than to drink it away." At this point Tsunade had walked over, cleared her throat and shot Kakashi an evil look. "Ok so maybe it's not the _best _way, but if you can be killed just doing your job you should be able to have a drink now and again."

Sakura's flashback faded as Ino pulled her though the crowed and up to the bar tender. Sakura looked on despairingly as Ino pulled out her ID and order a drink. She turned expectantly to Sakura, "Get what ever you'd like its on me."

Sakura gaped awkwardly, "Um... I'll have a Mud Slide, non-alcoholic."

"Sakura!" Ino shouted, "You defeated the purpose." Sakura watched as Ino pulled out _her_ ID and handed it to the bartender, "Please make that drink alcoholic, she doesn't know what's good for her."

"I don't even want to know how you got that out of my pocketbook!" Sakura exclaimed snatching back her ID.

"Thank you," Ino told the bar tender sweetly. Sakura rolled her eyes as the bartender shot her a look and then went to do Ino's evil bidding. "You see Sakura, no harm done! Everyone agrees that you should have a little fun."

The bartender handed them their drinks, "I'll top those off for you free of charge ok girls!"

He winked at them and Sakura's first inclination was to run away, but she stayed rooted to her spot as Ino leaned in to _thank _the bartender. Sakura was quick to turn around and scan the crowd for Naruto. She located him with ease. He was flirting with an older Chunin and Sai was taking notes. The poor boy couldn't have gotten any further from a good flirt. Sakura half wanted to walk up to Sai and slap him upside the head before he could actually follow those notes. Yet, somehow Naruto's method worked for him. Probably because he looked so much like the 4th.

"Baka," Sakura muttered as she did a 360 and headed for a booth where she saw Neji and Shikamaru sitting, a bottle of Saki between them. They seemed safe enough and Sakura decided to join them.

"Hey guys," she greeted them. She was forced to raise her voice to be heard above the loud music. Both boys looked up and scooted over to make room for her. Sakura chose to sit with Shikamaru. He was too afraid to cheat on Tamari and Neji scared her so she figured he was the better pick of the two boys. Neji moved back to the center of the bench and the two boys resumed their conversation.

"Do you think Kakashi will be able to keep the elders from going after Sasuke?" Neji asked. His questions was aimed at Shikamaru, but Sakura's eyes shot up from her drink and focused intently on the boy across from her. The warning alarms began to sound in her mind.

"I doubt he'll be able to hold them off for much longer. The elders received intel from my squad today," Shikamaru ventured a furtive glance at Sakura, "I wouldn't be surprised if a team wasn't sent out before the end of the week."

Sakura stood up suddenly, "Sorry guys but I think Ino was calling me just now!"

"Uh no she is..." Neji started but Sakura was already gone, "flirting with the bar tender," he finished; giving his friend a quizzical look.

"Sasuke." Shikamaru provided.

"Oh."

Sakura wandered though the crowed lost in thought. She knew that all her friends cared about Sasuke, but with Naruto aside, most cared about their village more. The moment they found out that she had "betrayed" the village she would become dead to them. Even Naruto would probably resent her. Sakura's resolve faltered. Even if the rest of her friends despised her, even if her mother disowned her she could survive, but the mere idea of Naruto being upset with her was enough for her to go back on her word and abandon the mission.

"No!" Sakura told herself out loud, " I CAN'T give up! I MUST be strong! If I do this I will have the chance to change Sasuke's mind. If I play my cards right I might be able to bring Sasuke home with me!" Sakura took another sip of her drink allowing a surge of of confidence flow though her veins. She smiled at Hinata as the girl entered the club.

"Hey Hinata, Naruto is over there with Sai. Tell him I say hi, ok?"

"Oh, Ok Sakura-chan, but um... why can't you tell him yourself?"

"Well I have a mission tomorrow and I thought I'd head home and prepare for it."

"I see... well good luck" the dark haired girl replied quietly. Sakura watched her disappear into the crowd of moving bodies on the dance floor. She left her glass on the bar and headed out into the street. Her apartment was on the other side of town but she didn't want to go straight home. She had decided to stop by Kakashi's on her way.

The Hokage's quarters were located behind the administration building, and though Sakura had been close to Tsunade she had never been inside the mansion. Perhaps this was because Tsunade rarely made it there; she typically fell asleep at her desk, and that was where Sakura found her in the morning. The mansion was a traditional Japanese building with all the splendor and glory of the traditional temples. It was surrounded by a red wood gate and the entrance was marked off by a large arch way. The gate opened under the arc into a beautiful garden of cherry blossom trees and ponds. Coy fish swam lazily in their lily filled pools and banzai trees were sitting in pots on the front steps of the mansion. Sakura knocked on the large red doors and was greeted by a familiar looking Anbu.

"Good evening" Yamato's voice came from behind the mask, as Sakura had expected.

"Oi, Tenzou who's there?" Sakura could hear Kakashi calling from somewhere inside. Sakura looked up at the Anbu wondering if 'Tenzou' was his real name.

"Kakashi!" Tenzou/ Yamato sighed, and Sakura knew that Kakashi had slipped up and called his former team mate by his real name.

"Oh, sorry!" Kakashi said as he came into the room, realizing why he had made a mistake. He was wearing only a pair of baggy pajama bottoms with his name written in characters and his mask. He leaned against a wall and his ab muscles popped. Sakura had to try VERY hard not to blush.

"Good evening Sakura, having second thoughts about Sasuke?" he asked, implying something that was not the mission. He watched satisfied that he could still distract girls, as Sakura's eyes shot up to meet his.

"h-huh?" she stuttered, "Uh, no."

"You're so cute when you're embarrassed..." he told her softly, walking further into the mansion.

"Pervert!" she called, but followed him anyway.

"I don't mean anything by it, It was merely a harmless compliment, thats all..." He lied, and Tenzou knew he was lying.

"Sure, whatever," Sakura looked sheepishly back at the identity confused Anbu. She noticed that he had taken his mask of and was indeed her Captain.

"So Sakura, what brings you here?" Kakashi questioned, he was finally being serious.

"I'm going to do it! I'm leaving first thing tomorrow to make it look like I just left. It will make my betrayal seem more real."

Kakashi frowned but nodded, "that sounds like a plan, but how are you going to find him, and do you have a plan for infiltrating Akatsuki yet?"

"I'm going to follow the trail that red head girl left when she escaped a few days ago. I'm pretty sure that the sent trail will still be there, it hasn't rained since, and she didn't appear to be skilled enough to cover her trail."

"hmm, and for your infiltration?"

"I'll work that one out on my way."

"From the information Shikamaru's team gave me, I would say you have about a three day trip ahead of you."

"That should be plenty of time to get a story together."

"Be careful Sakura."

"I will be Sensei!" she relied, backing up her words with a big grin. Kakashi reached out and affectionately ruffled her pink locks.

"Bring him home, ok?"

"I will Sensei."

Kakashi pulled her into a short hug, "you're strong Sakura, don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Sakura nodded against his bare chest, he released her and she turned to leave. The door shut behind her. Kakashi sighed and Tenzou put a hand on his shoulder.

"Sasuke is one lucky bastard," Kakashi mumbled, "sorry about yelling your name out like that."

"It's ok, I prefer Tenzou over Yamato anyway... Besides, she was going to find out soon enough." Tenzou smiled at kakashi, "Sasuke may not deserve her, but you're too old for her."

"I know," Kakashi conceded, "but a man can dream, can't he?"

"Sure he can, especially when he is only six years older than her!" Tenzou was now beaming at the older Hokage, who hit him upside the head.

"Pervert!" Kakashi called then ventured into his room.

* * *

Sakura hurried around her house. She had spent the past four hours cleaning up after her mother. It was nearing one in the mourning and she hadn't even started packing. When she was satisfied wit the cleanliness of her apartment she pulled out her pack and began to haphazardly toss things in. She was pleased to discover that she could still fit into her old clothing. She tossed a few Kunai into her holster and left it on her dresser. She finished packing at three and immediately hit the hay. She tired to sleep, but the next four hours slipped by too quickly. At seven Sakura pulled herself out of bed and into the shower. She didn't plan on traveling quickly, she would just need to get to the next village and she could stay there for the night.

Sakura loaded her pack onto her back, strapped her holster onto her thigh and tied her hair back with a plain red strip of cloth. Her hitiate was to be left behind, forgotten on her dresser. She was stopped at the gate and found Yamato standing next to the closed exit.

"Good luck Sakura-chan!" he said with a smile, "I'll try to make sure everyone keeps faith in you."

"Thank you Yamato-Taichou" Sakura hugged him and then pulled the lever to release the gate. Yamato watched her leave before closing the gate behind her.

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**Author's Note: Well there you have it! The second chapter! Please Review I really want to reach my goal of 100!**


	3. Sakura's Disguise

**Author's Note: Hey guy sorry it took me soooo long to update. I've had a hectic few months, but finally the muse has struck me again. My good friend Aidou-Senpai is pressuring me to try to update at least once a month, but I'm not going to make any promises. (Mostly so you guys don't hold me to them...) **

**Also: Seeing as the Naruto plot has evolve A LOT since I last posted a chapter, this is going to stray from Cannon. (As most of my stories do)**  
**BTW: Happy Birthday Adiou-Chan! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, if I did Kakashi would be mine!  
**

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Chapter Three**

**Sakura's Disguise**

Sakura couldn't hear the gates close behind her, but she knew she was alone. It was her first solo mission, and it wasn't going to be a piece of cake either. That fact alone scared her shitless, but also gave her a burning sense of pride. The elders had made it clear that she was the only person in all of Konoha that was fit for the job. Coming from the elders, that was certainly saying something. However, all of their praise would be for nothing, if she didn't come up with a game plan and fast. She had been hoping to put together a convincing disguise before leaving the village, but that was foiled by two things. One; she needed to leave before she could chicken out and go back on her resolve, and two; she had to make her treason convincing so that her friends wouldn't try to come back her up on what could very possibly become a suicide mission. This was something she had to do on her own, whether she liked it or not.

The closest civilian village to Konoha had always been a shopping destination for Sakura and Ino. Sakura knew all too well that the village would suffice for building a disguise, but she needed to make one up before she got there, and that was not a simple task. How the hell did she come up with an entire life in a few short hours? She would need to think up an entire history, personality, appearance, and origin. Sakura's heart fell. Had she really been the one for this mission? The elders probably would have had better luck with an experienced Anbu. Someone who could come up with disguises and histories on the spot. Neither Kakashi nor Tsunade had taught her this particular art and Sakura made a mental note to scold her teachers for that when she got back. Assuming Tsunade had come around by then. Sakura's heart gave another little jolt at the thought. Every ninja had to accept the fact that there might be a mission they never return from. In fact most just went ahead and assumed that one day they just wouldn't come home. Sakura just hadn't expected to be put in such a serious situation so young.

She had been walking for close to an hour already, which meant that she was getting closer to the village. If she was going to figure out this disguise she was going to need to really start thinking about it. She opted to pause in her trip until she had stored things out, straying off the beaten path and into the surrounding forest she found a nice perch in a large tree and set her back between her knees. She pulled a leather bound notebook from the bag and rummaged deeper to find a small pen. She sighed and opened the book, labeling the top of the page with the first name that came to her mind.

"Amaya" She whispered it as she wrote it, trying to get a feel for it on her lips. She stared at the name and the rest of the mostly blank page on her lap. The first step was out of the way, but she had no idea where to go from there. What else did she need to invent? A birthdate? A home village? A family history? A new personality? Where did a new identity begin, and where did it end? Sakura leaned her head against the tree trunk and let out an aggravated sigh. Leaving the village before she had a solid alter ego had been very, very poor planning on her part. Why hadn't Kakashi stopped her, or at least given her tips on how to come up with such a thing. Did he seriously expect her to just go marching up to Sasuke, pink hair and green eyes flashing? It certainly seemed that way. If not, then least he could have done was assigned her an identity.

"Okay... so what makes me who I am?" Sakura asked the tree, "My name, my age, my personality, my village, my ninja skills, and my friends. So If I analyze those traits maybe I can start altering them slightly to make someone else who only vaguely resembles me. If I keep this person similar to myself I'll be less likely to mess up in my act."

Sakura took up her pencil and began to scribble down her information crossing out certain details and replacing them with fictional ones. She chewed on her pencil for a while trying to come up with a birthday that would be easy to remember and not set off alarms in Sasuke's head. In other words, Ino's birthday was out of the question. Finally, she settled on her dad's birthday. It seemed like the perfect fit, Sasuke had never met her father and therefore would probably not be able to link the date to Sakura's family if he became suspicious. Plus it would be easy for her to remember.

Altering her personality would be a little trickier. Her sporadic fits rage would be hard to hide, she honestly doubted she could even downplay that aspect of her personality. She would need to keep her personality based on that... flamboyant side of her, while altering it enough to keep all suspicion to a minimum. She would need to be a little more sadistic, after all this was the Akatsuki she was trying to appeal to. It had consisted of a man who killed everyone in his family except his little brother, a man that believed destroying the ninja villages would bring peace to the world, and a man that enjoyed making things go BOOM, and a man with a serious snake fetish. The best part? Those were only the men who had died. The remaining members were even weirder. There was still that venus flytrap-man thing, a shark-man thing, and someone who is probably immortal. Not to mention a certain duck-butt, raven haired Uchiha son, who's brother had massacred their entire family in the name of the greater good. If she was going to appeal to this group of people she would need to use her creativity to make herself more mysterious. She couldn't say that she killed off her entire family. Not only was that already taken, but it was something that would be hard to prove. The massacre of a whole clan was news worthy, to say the least, and the Akatsuki would certainly have heard about it already. Had it actually happened. She could, however, say that she was the illegitimate child of an influential shinobe. Who happened to be kept a complete secret, and out of rage towards her parents she decided to revolt against her village and join the Akatsuki. Of course her motive would be so she could really make her mark on the world.

_Yeah that sounds promising. _Sakura thought, _what village should I be from? Well, if I claim to be from another village there could be a member in the Akatsuki who could negate my story, and not to mention my accent would give me away in an instant. I could say that I was the illegitimate child of Tsunade and Jiraiya and when she went into a coma I was finally free to run away. That would explain my medical knowledge, and my temper, and I could play it up and say I wanted to be a part of the organization that was able to bring down my father. It's perfect! All I need to do is change my appearance to resemble Tsunade and Jiraiya. I can also claim that I'm older than I look because of Tsunade's jutsu! This is just perfect! I would have learned from Orochimaru and Jiraiya and Tsunade making me a good fit for the Akatsuki. Not to mention I would have information about the inner workings of Konoha that even Sasuke won't have. Bingo!_

Sakura closed the book and heaved a big sigh. She jumped out of the tree and channeled chakra to every inch of her body, slowly transforming her outer body. She decided just to take the most noticeable attributes of both people. Her breasts were the first thing to change. Perhaps for the better? She enlarged them a little, then added a little height by elongating her legs, a painful but effective process. She would have done that along time ago if it weren't so damn chakra consuming. She dimmed her eye color to a muddy green, one that matched the frogish tint of Jiraiya's. Her hair became a pale white color and her skin tanned ever so slightly. When she made it to the village she would stop in a tattoo parlor and have a small purple diamond tattooed onto her forehead.

She started to walk out of the forest, pulling at her tight top. She would need to purchase a new wardrobe now that she had larger endowments. As she picked up her pace she absently wondered how the hell Tsunade dealt with the melons attached to her chest. Then her heart sank a little. Perhaps Tsunade wouldn't have to deal with them any more. If she did wake up from her coma it might be too late to save her youthful look, and with the newly formed wrinkles on her face those breasts, that had every boy in Konoha talking, will have become nothing more than flesh. Sakura shook her head. _Bad thoughts! Bad thoughts!_ She scolded herself. Not wanting to focus on the idea of old Tsunade or her boobs.

The short distance that remained between Sakura and the village went by quickly. She hummed happily to herself as she approached the gates. The first thing she wanted to do was find a place to stay for the night. She knew about a small inn on the out skits of town that would suit her purposes. It was often used by Konoha ninja and the inn keeper could be trusted to keep his mouth shut. A plus side incase Kakashi couldn't keep the tracking ninja off her trail for as long as he had promised. Sakura sucked in a deep breath and approached the old man at the front desk. He looked up at her and cocked an eyebrow. To those living around Konoha, it was hard to miss her resemblance to the former Hokage.

"How may I help you miss...?" He asked absently, letting his gaze fall back on an orange covered book.

"Amaya," Sakura said shortly, conveying her master's impatience, as she assumed that woman's daughter might. "I need a room for a night...no... make that two nights." Sakura said taking her pack off her back and rummaging around for her change purse. She handed the man enough for three nights stay and then some. "I would appreciate it if I did not exsist... if you understand what I mean." she said with a stern glare.

The man shrugged, "of course," he reached under the table, not once taking his eyes off the lines of his book, and handed Sakura a set of keys. She pocketed them, curtly picked up her pack and headed up the stairs. Her room was around the back of the inn and had a lovely view of the town gardens. The atmosphere was peaceful, and she sighed as she felt herself relax slightly. She knew she should take advantage of the feeling for the night because once she left this village, she would be under constant pressure. She shut the door behind her, tossed her pack onto her bed and opened the back door. The air was fresh, something that you couldn't really find in Konoha. Her home village was the bustling city of the fire country. So many people in one place did not make for the best atmospheric conditions. Sakura allowed the clean air to fill her lungs as she collapsed onto her bed. She laid there for a while contemplating everything she would need to purchase while she was still here.

She already knew that she would need new clothes. It was obvious that her petite sized clothing would not accommodate her new traits. She also needed to get that tattoo, and rip a Konoha head band off of some unsuspecting ninja in the area. At some point she would need to get some food, and extra supplies for the rest of her journey, but for the time being she really just wanted a warm shower. Her legs were still sore from the chakra procedure. She pulled herself off the bed and into the little bathroom. She turned the water to it's hottest temperature and stepped in. The warm spray ran down her back and soothed her torn muscles. Body alteration always reaped havoc on muscle structure, and Sakura knew that it would probably take longer than a single night for her to recover. Even though her alterations had only been minor, and were not meant to be permeant.

When she could no longer find any excuse to stay in the sower she got out and changed into her largest shirt, and the only pair of pant she had brought with her. She combed though her long whitish hair and tied it up to keep it out of her way. She grabbed her wallet and left her room. The sun was starting to set and the people had taken to the streets for the evening. People were stringing lights from one side of the street to the other, and hanging bright red lanterns outside their shops. Banners with the konoha leaf insignia could be seen hanging from countless windows. For a moment Sakura considered asking one of the shop owners why the village was decorated in such a way and then she remembered that Kakashi was going on a "good will tour" to try and rally for help in rebuilding Konoha, and this village happened to be his first stop. She smiled to herself and shook her head. Kakashi had gone into office thinking he wasn't cut out for the job, or that he would be unpopular. From the looks of it Sakura could tell he had be wrong. Of course she knew he had been from the start. He had been the student of the ever popular fourth Hokage after all. Unfortunately that meant he would be in the village the next day.

It wasn't hard for Sakura to locate her favorite boutique. A little shop that catered to young girls. It had been years since she had been there. After starting her training with Tsunade she hadn't had the time to go shopping, so she mostly relied on her mother to buy her stuff. The front of the store had changed since she had last been there. Sakura sighed as she thought back. She had been with Ino and the two girls had been giddy over something stupid old Sasuke had done during training that day. Of course they had been completely over dramatizing the whole situation but they were both convinced that the emotionally constipated Sasuke had actually attempted to flirt with Sakura. Naturally Sakura was on cloud nine and Ino was more than a little jealous, but still pleased that the boy actually had the ability to flirt. Much to Sakura's chagrin the blonde was chatting on and on about how it means that she has a chance with him too.

Sakura pushed open the door shaking her head. Neither girl would have thought that the boy they were fretting over would become the most wanted rouge ninja in the fire country. It really is funny how the world turns. The woman who owned the shop smiled at her when she looked up from the fashion magazine she was reading.

"Good evening! Welcome to Sakura's!" the girl announced and Sakura smiled at her. It had been the name of the shop that had originally drawn Sakura and Ino in. Sakura blocked another memory from bubbling to the surface as she turned her attention to the racks of clothing. She began to pick out some of the darker styles that she had always been attracted to, but never had the courage to wear. She allowed her stresses and depression to leave her mind as she focused on building an "Akatsuki worthy" wardrobe. She picked out the important stuff like underwear and sandals, all in a more gothic style, and then moved on to skirts she could move in, leggings, tops, and gloves. Finally she topped it off with hair accessories and a specific necklace that mildly resembled the one Tsunade had given to Naruto. It had the same design only the gem was red, and completely value less when stacked up to a gem that could control a Biiju.

She left the store with over five bags stuffed with a new wardrobe leaving behind a satisfied itch to shop and a very, very happy shop owner. She stopped briefly to eat something and moved on to the weapons shop on the outskirts of town where she purchased a leather holster that slung across her hip and hung over her new black skirts. She returned to her room a little after eight in the evening. She organized her pack into a newer bag and left all her old clothes in the old one. If she could locate Yamato in the morning, she would hand them off to him. Tomorrow when Kakashi and his entourage arrived in the village she could really test out her new disguise. She would get her tattoo first thing in the morning, and let things play out from there.

She changed into the black and red sleeping robe she had just purchased and braided her long hair, before crashing into the bed. She was asleep in an instant he usual depression induced insomnia lost on her physical exhaustion.

* * *

Kakashi looked down at the paper on his desk, up at Tenzou and then back down at the paper. He had been in his office for ten hours straight. Ever since Naruto came running in like a raving lunatic screaming about Sakura's disappearance. Kakashi had since been trying to devise a way to delay explaining to Naruto that Sakura had deserted, and how he could put together a useless tracking team, without letting anyone know that Sakura was only on a mission. Her disappearance needed to look like a convincing treason to everyone, or else certain people might get delusional ideas. *cough* NARUTO *cough*

"Why didn't you remind me of this field trip?" Kakashi asked in his "I'm yelling, but not yelling at the same time" voice.

"I thought you knew about it. After all it was _your_ idea to do this!" Tenzou defended putting down Kakashi's handwritten campaign agenda.

"You're right, but how can you expect me to remember what I say and don't say from day to day, have you seen my daily planner? It's the size of an Icha Icha novel!"

"With all due respect sir, that says more about your lack of reading taste than it does the length of your daily schedule."

"Ouch, Tenzou, that was a low blow." Kakashi turning around in his swivel chair to look out at the half rebuilt village, "but seriously, what are we going to do. Sakura is staying in that village until she has a disguise. What if she hasn't figured that one out yet. She left in a bit of a rush, and I never got the chance to teach her anything about effective disguises."

"I guess we'll just have to hope that she worked it out. Sakura is a capable woman. I'm sure she had her disguise figured out before she even got there."

Kakashi nodded, "hmmmmm I hope your right, Tenzou, I really do."

* * *

The sun streamed in though the thin curtains in Sakura's room, but she couldn't complain too much. She had slept more in that one night than she had in close to a month. She grabbed a towel from the bathroom and packed a few things into a smaller bag before heading out the back door of the in and though the village gardens directly to the women's bathhouse. She had the place to herself as she slipped into the warm waters of the natural springs. She did a few laps for exercise, since she wouldn't bother anyone by doing so, and then allowed herself to float about. She was hoping that the extended time she was spending in hot water would help sooth her muscles. If it was absolutely necessary she could prolong her stay a little longer, but she knew that eventually she would need to get moving. The sooner the better really. Konoha was in a weakened state, and the Akatsuki could launch a fatal attack at any moment.

She dressed in the bath house before dropping her things off in her room. She then set out to make a mourning chore of finding a tattoo parlor. Much to her delight her task was much easier than she had suspected. She had already accepted the fact that she would probably be stuck with the diamond on her forehead even after she dropped the rest of her disguise, but in the back of her mind she didn't really care. She had always thought it was a pretty little design, and it would do a wonderful job of marking her as Tsunade's apprentice. She hovered outside the entrance of the discrete little shop. She took a deep breath, assured herself that there was no going back and opened the door.

Unfortunately she was greeted by a guy that ranked only slightly lower then Orochimaru on the creeper scale.

"Hello baby," he cooed peering at her though glazed over blue eyes, "what can I do for ya? A nice butterfly on your hip?" He asked gesturing to a very risky location on his own hip.

Sakura gulped down a small squeak, "Uh no. I would like a small purple diamond about a centimeter in diameter, right here." she pointed to the spot slightly above her eyebrows and centered right down the middle of her nose.

"Suuuree thing sweeet thaaang."

Sakura allowed the creep to lead her into the back of the shop. He instructed her to lye down on an ancient examination table. Reluctantly Sakura complied. There was no discussion, even though the tattoo artist did try to start one. Sakura just laid stock still and channeled chakara into her forehead to dull the pain. It didn't work. As soon as the needle made contact with the skin of her forehead Sakura could feel the searing sensation run through her face. Luckily she had numbed her face enough to resist scrunching up her eyebrows. The pain lasted ten minuets total. She paid the creeper and bolted from the shop. She made it back to the inn before the locals crowded the streets for the impending festival. She changed into her newly purchased clothing and surveyed herself in the large mirror.

She certainly wasn't recognizable. Two long white pigtails hung behind her shoulders held together with little black ties, each decorated with a small ruby. Her thin frame was more curvaceous and her tight black sleeveless top made it show. The high neck cut into a V down the middle and her ruby necklace hung around the base of her neck. Her black gloves ended just above her elbow. Her skirt fell to just above her knee and had a fluttery cut. She wore netting stockings that peeked out from her calf high sandals. The diamond on her forehead was perfect, and she gave her reflection a satisfied nod. It would be difficult to recognize her visually, but vocally she needed some help. She may look like Amaya, but she still sounded like Sakura. She shrugged and turned around to leave again.

The streets were packed now. Children lined the streets with their hands and pockets stuffed with confetti to throw at the approaching convoy. Sakura took her place among the crowd. From there it would not be hard to locate a certain Hokage, but finding the time to speak to him alone would be difficult. Children cheered with their parents and Sakura had to stifle a laugh as she watched Kakashi's reaction. He wasn't expecting this kind of welcome, and he didn't really know how to handle it. So he just plastered on his signature smile and gave little wave.

The end of the parade came and Kakashi got out of the little cart. He stood among the people for a second, shaking hands and trying not to get tripped by the child that hugged his legs as he fought his way into the building to his right. Sakura pushed through the crowd and found the back entrance of the building.

"You need clearance to get past here." The Anbu guard demanded as she approached. She thanked her lucky stars when she couldn't recognize his voice, and that she even knew the passcode. Well, she knew a password anyway, the password reserved for the people that were allowed constant contact to the Hokage no matter what.

"Icha Icha Tactics." she said quickly. Sometimes it payed off to be the Hokage's student. She went down the back hallway and into the main area. She discovered that it was a restaurant that was now filled with influential looking men and women from the village and surrounding area. Kakashi was talking with a few of them as they all mingled around enjoying the food provided. Sakura hung back waiting for him to finish the conversation. She would nab him in between conversations and ask him to meet her after he finished.

When Kakashi's movements signaled the end of the conversation she moved in and hovered behind him. He turned around and looked her straight in the eye. He wiggled his nose a little and looked her up and down. Sakura wanted to slap him upside the head, but refrained.

"Sakura?" he asked. Her heart stopped. How had he figured it out that fast? Was that why he had looked her up and down? If that was the case then she wouldn't have to hit him later.

"Kakashi... Meet me after you're done here. I'm in room 13 at our normal inn." She added a wink incase anyone had overheard her. She would sound more like an old girlfriend or a mistress to those that didn't know her.

"You look good..." Kakashi trailed off... "You'll be giving a lot of boys nosebleeds in that... I'm not sure I can allow you to walk around..."

Sakura rolled her eyes, there he went playing over protective brother/father. "Room 13. Don't forget." she said and walked out.

"Who was that?" Tenzou asked coming up behind Kakashi.

"Oh that was just our little traitor." Kakashi cooed affectionately.

"Sakura?"

"mmmm." Kakashi murmured as he moved on to the next diplomat. It was going to be a long afternoon for him. Especially now that he knew where Sakura was. It was going to be hard for him to let her walk right back into the arms of a very undeserving Uchiha.

* * *

Sakura paced her room for most of the afternoon waiting for Kakashi, and hopefully Tenzou, to show. She wanted to know how he had recognized her so she could fix it. Her disguise needed to be perfect or else Sasuke would figure her out immediately and either have mercy on her or kill her on the spot. A thought that sent shivers up her spine. If she got there and was sent back to Konoha empty handed she would be slaughtered by the elders.

It felt like a week had gone by before Kakashi knocked on her hotel room door. She flew across her room and threw open the door hugging Kakashi as he tried to step inside.

"How did you know it was me?" she demanded into his shoulder.

"You smell like yourself." Kakashi replied simply. Trying to refrain from making his point by sticking his nose into her hair.

Tenzou walked in. "Ok you two make this quick, we don't have much time before the rest of the Anbu escort realizes you've disappeared Kakashi-samma."

Sakura nodded, "I just wanted to make sure this disguise and cover identity would be okay." She crossed the room and dug down into her original pack to find the black leather notebook she had recorded everything in. She tossed it to kakashi and folded her arms waiting for him to read her new back story.

Kakashi made a few noises of approval and a rather unenthusiastic grunt or two. Then pocketed the book.

"It's alright. You have a good disguise, I wouldn't have been able to recognize you if I didn't know your sent. It's a little risky to make yourself the daughter of two well known ninjas like that, but at least you have thought up an explanation for why no one knows about you. You're also right in keeping your rage a part of your new identity. It makes it easier for you to keep your cover, and it also relates you to that woman." Kakashi explained, "I will have records for Amaya put into the Konoha data bases incase Madara goes looking for information."

"Thanks, I was gonna send you something and ask you to do that, but when I noticed that you'd be here today I figured it would be easier, and slightly less risky to just speak to you one on one."

"Good thinking," Tenzou added, "Most of the Hokage's mail is at least opened by an Anbu before being delivered. As a safety precaution. If you had put Amaya on the label it would have been searched. If you had put Sakura on the label you would have had a tracking team on you ass in a mater of hours."

Sakura gaped a little at this...

"Not to scare you or anything..." Tenzou deadpanned.

"No of course not... Yamato Taichou..." Sakura replied skeptically.

"Alright." Kakashi cleared his throat, "well Sakura... er... Amaya. We wish you luck and I request that you try to leave us little clues about your well being along the way. I'll have eyes on you as much as I can without creating any suspicion."

Sakura nodded grimly... "Right, well then... I guess this is good bye for real now?"

"Yeah... I guess it is, but we'll see you when you come out on the other end."

Kakashi hugged Sakura then turned and followed Tenzou out the door closing it behind him.

* * *

**Well there you have it chappie three... I might be making a few grammar and spelling edits over the course of the next week or so, but I hope you liked it :) **

**~ Kottako  
**


	4. Sakura's Journey

**Chapter Four**

**Sakura's Journey**

Sasuke watched the commotion in a detached part of his mind, a place he had been since his older brother killed his entire clan. His team mates still thought he was ridiculously pacifistic for a member of the Akatsuki, but then he thought they were all psychotic. He hated the unnecessary killing of innocent people, but he had to keep up these idiotic appearances or else thousands more innocent people would meet the same horrifying fate. Sasuke's heart clenched at the idea.

"You must do everything you can to save the village, Sasuke. No one is going to trust you. You may have to turn against your entire village for a while. You may have to hurt the people you love most, you may have to wound them more than anyone else. The point is, the village is corrupt, the roots don't trust us anymore, they hate our power, and there is a horrible secret we've been harboring." Sasuke closed his eyes thinking back to that day so, so long ago. He could vividly see his father kneeling before him. He still feelt the pressure his father's hands placed on his shoulders, and he could still remember the serious expression in the old man's deep Onyx eyes.

Sasuke leaned his head against the wall he was sitting up against as he let out a measured sigh. He was still stuck in memory land. His father had led him deep into the family compound. Sasuke hadn't known what to think. He had been scared, upset, and he wasn't allowed to cry. He had the horrible feeling that something terrible was going to happen and there was nothing he could do about it. He clung to his father's hand as they wandered though dark hallways of flickering torch light. They stopped in a well lit room with the Uchiha family tree painted along the walls. His father let go of his hand and instructed him to sit in the middle of the room. Sasuke watched in mild terror as his father walked about the room telling the story of the Uchiha family. His father paused over one name. Madara Uchiha. Sighed, and then launched into a very long explanation. That night, Itachi killed everyone but his little brother.

"Sasuke, you're doing it _again!_" Karin whined. Sasuke opened his eyes, effectively pulling himself out of his inner world. He gave the red haired girl a nasty glare, crossed his arms and stared out the window again.

They were camping out at an inn attached to a hot spring. A situation that annoyed Sasuke from the start, but Karin had insisted upon it. She detested camping out under the stars and she would bitch until her three male team mates just gave in and did as she wanted them to. Sasuke couldn't even bathe without a horde of females following him around. It was so troublesome.

"Why do you always stay shut up in your room Sasuke-kun?" Karin began again. Sasuke shuddered, he hated the sound of her voice, and he especially hated it when she said his name all drawn out like that. The only person he wanted to say his name in that way was Sakura Haruno. The girl he missed more than anything in the village he was forced to leave behind.

* * *

Sakura waited a while before venturing back out into the streets. She still needed to get that hitiate off of some unsuspecting shinobe. Thankfully the village was littered with them. It was the weekend, and since Kakashi had traveled here, some of the Konoha regular ninjas had followed for the festivities. Sakura spotted Ino from the distance and Naruto was just behind her. Perfect. That knucklehead would never know what hit him.

In hind sight Sakura probably should have thought things though a little more before she acted upon impulse. She should have known that her best friend would know her disguise or not. As Sakura approached Ino made eye contact for half a second. Her eyes widened and then narrowed as she tried to study her closer. When she stopped watching her Sakura sighed in relief. She may have left Ino a little suspicious, but at least she hadn't been discovered. It was then that Sakura decided to make her move.

"Heyyyyyy Mr. Ninja," she purred in a voice that was not her own, "could I interest you in some ramen? I know a lovely stand that is making ramen specifically to celebrate your Hokage."

Naruto looked back at Ino, who looked up at Sakura, made eye contact once again and then back at Naruto. She gave him a small nod and disappeared. Sakura lead Naruto into the crowded street and down to the ramen shop she had spotted earlier.

"So... um... whats your name lady." He asked.

Sakura rolled her eyes. Typical tactless Naruto. She had to try really hard to just continue on with her plan. She could have picked any other senseless Genin, but at least she knew Kakashi would take it easy on Naruto if she took his headband. She didn't want anyone's team leader raking their student for no reason.

"Amaya," Sakura replied praying she sounded sure of herself when she introduced her fake name.

"A pretty name for a pretty lady," Naruto said approvingly. He was observing her closely. He knew this girl looked familiar. She kinda looked like Sakura, but he knew that was impossible. Kakashi had told him she was home sick. She also looked a lot like Tsunade, especially with that purple diamond on her forehead.

"I'm Naruto," He said after a moment, "You remind me of my friend Sakura, and her teacher Tsunade."

Sakura sucked in her breath for a moment. Looked long and hard at Naruto and then gave him a million watt smile.

"I don't know your friend is, but I've heard Tsunade is really a very pretty woman. I guess I should take that as a compliment."

Naruto nodded, "You should. Sakura is the prettiest girl I know. Sometimes she hates it, but her pink hair is so beautiful. Thats why her name is Cherry Blossom Girl."

Sakura felt a little weird hearing this about herself. She had to fight to keep from blushing first and punching him second. She was surprised he knew about her insecurities. It was sweet what he said though. Maybe she would leave her pink hair grown out when this mission was over. If she came back alive.

"I wish she had a chest more like you though." Naruto commented suddenly, a grin was splitting his face and he had put his hand behind his head awkwardly. It was the stance he took when he didn't want Sakura to punch him. It must have become a reflex, and if wouldn't have risked an entire mission she would have punched him here too.

"I think that is a compliment?" She tried pleasantly though a clenched-tooth-smile.

"Oh! It is! Sakura is a bit flat chested. Its almost like she never grew up in that area, if you know what I mean." Naruto chuckled on happily. Sweet, surprising moment gone. Killed on the spot. Inner Sakura began to have a temper tantrum.

_How dare he say these things about you when you KNOW he'd rather be here with you right now. How dare he say these things while you're hom 'sick'!_

Sakura was silent for a while. The pair finished walking though the crowd toward the ramen shop. Naruto picked up on the silence and changed the subject.

"So where are you from, you don't have an accent so you must be from the fire country. I know this country like the back of my hand! I want to be Hokage someday!"

"I'm from just outside of Konoha. I think I may have heard of you! You said your name was Naruto right?"

Naruto nodded his head with pride.

"You're the guy that saved the villages from destruction!"

"Yup thats me!" Naruto exclaimed, "but can you keep it on the downlow? I'm not supposed to be outside the village gates at the moment."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. True, she had forgotten about that little detail. So where was Sai at this moment in time?

"It's okay," she smiled at him, "your secret is safe with me."

Naruto beamed at her.

"It's good luck where I come from to kiss the forehead of a hero." Sakura began making up her story as she went, "would you allow me to remove your headband so that I might have good luck?"

Naruto beamed brighter and nodded encouragingly. His bright blue eyes widened with joy.

"It would be an honor to bring you luck," he replied. Sakura mentally noted that it was the most gentlemanly thing she had ever witnessed come from his mouth.

She reached behind him untied the headband and kissed his forehead lightly. She could feel Naruto swoon as his body swayed from side to side. She reached into the pouch on her hip and put the headband inside. She pulled out the piece of red cloth she had been using to tie back her hair when she left Konoha and tied that around his forehead. She pulled back and leaned down to kiss his nose for good measure.

"Hmmmmmm" Naruto sighed as he turned a deep shade of pink. They turned into the ramen shop. Sakura ordered for herself and Naruto and then waited for the food to come. She thanked her lucky stars that her best guy friend was such a dim wad. He dug into his ramen and completely forgot about her. She left money on the counter for both meals. She gave Naruto one last glance before disappearing.

* * *

The sun had started to sink in the sky when Sakura made it back to her room. She was exhausted and didn't understand why. It wasn't like she did anything strenuous today. Granted, there was still a steady stream of chakra being diverted to her own body as her lengthened bones solidified. She threw herself back onto the bed for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past twenty-four hours. She changed, got dinner, showered and then slept the night away. She would be starting on her journey in the morning, and from there on she would not be able to turn back.

* * *

Naruto finished his ramen and turned to see how his date, if he could call it that, was doing. She was gone. He frowned but noticed she had left him a completely untouched bowl of his favorite ramen. Wait... how would she have known his favorite ramen? He was positive he had not talked about food with her. He shrugged and dug into his second bowl. Something told him that was exactly what she had left it there for.

It was Sakura's way of treating Naruto to ramen, incase she didn't make it home.

* * *

Ino couldn't shake the feeling that the blonde girl that had approached Naruto was familiar. She knew it was probably because she looked exactly like Tsunade, and a bit like Jiraiya if you really studied her. A fishy appearance, but it was just a coincidence. Ino knew better than to jump to crazy conclusions.

She watched the pair walk away then turned into her favorite store. She smiled at the shop keeper who greeted her.

"Welcome to Sakura's!"

Ino gave a small nod. The store was the same as ever. She wished Sakura could have been here, but she was probably up with Kakashi. Those two had become so close in the past few years. If not she was home resting. Kakashi had mentioned that she was coming down with something.

* * *

Kakashi was having trouble sitting though his countless good will meetings and dinners. He squirmed every time Sakura's name came into conversation, and he was surprised how often that happened. Sometimes it was his own fault. He would bring her up to brag about her, or she would come up in a conversation about Naruto. Sometimes it was the officials asking.

"Who is that pretty little cherry haired girl in all the pictures of you?" They would ask as a joke. Men will be men of course. Kakashi would give them a sad smile and diplomatically explain their relationship. It was maddening how often she crossed his mind these days. He knew that they would never be more than platonic friends. He knew he was far to old for her, and he had a strong feeling that Sasuke would be coming home with her. That's the only reason he finally agreed to sending her after him, alone. He would try to support her in everything she does, but he wasn't sure he could let Sasuke just take her after all the pain he caused her.

* * *

The sun came up far too early for Sakura's tastes. She hauled herself out of bed and made her final preparations for the long trip. She left the hotel with time to spare and bought herself one final hot meal, before leaving the village.

The trail was empty until around noon. She passed countless civilians throughout the afternoon, but the shinobe of the world seemed to be elsewhere. She had tied Naruto's hitiate onto her head. The unscathed symbol gave her easy passage on the numerous fairy boats that traveled the many wide rivers that criss crossed the fire country.

She had made it though the rest of the towns by the end of the day; satisfied with her progress she set up camp in a familiar patch of woods. The fire she built was small but it crackled though the night and put off enough heat to keep her nice and warm. It was a far cry from Kakashi's signature bonfire but she lapsed into a sad flashback as she stared at the flames.

* * *

"_Never have I ever..." Sakura trailed off, she was never good at thinking of something to end the statement. Kakashi could always think of something to force her and Naruto to put their finger down, but never could she think of something for them. She played dirty with Ino and the rest of the girls, but was it really appropriate to ask you Sensei those kinds of questions? Probably not. _

_She sighed and shrugged, "Oh fine. Never have I evvvvvvvverrrrrrrr kissed Sasuke." Kakashi and Naruto snorted. Sasuke went darkly silent. _

_Kakashi swore he saw the young Uchiha blush. Perhaps there was more to that boy's feelings then met the eye. Kakashi had noticed just how protective he was of Sakura, but usually he wrote it off as camaraderie. _

"_Okay Sasuke your turn." Sakura chipped cheerfully. _

_Kakashi watched the young man a little closer. Sasuke's pupils dilated ever so slightly as he regarded the pink haired preteen across the camp fire. The change would have been lost in the steely darkness of the boy's eyes if it weren't for Kakashi's sharingan. _

"_I'm not playing." Sasuke said after a moment of observing the girl he was speaking to. _

_Sakura pouted but she already knew she couldn't win against the Uchiha. She turned to Kakashi with her signature smile. _

"_Allllrrriiiggghht then Kakashi you go." _

_Kakashi smiled, it was time to make this game interesting. _

"_Never have I ever kissed Sakura." _

_Sakura blushed deeply, "And never will you ever kiss Sakura." She replied. _

_Kakashi chuckled, "Don't be so sure about that." _

_He started moving towards the younger girl. Sasuke watched in horror, Naruto laughed, and Sakura squirmed as Kakashi leapt across the camp fire and pinned Sakura to the tree she was leaning up against. Kakashi put his face just close enough to Sakura's to make the Uchiha behind him squirm. He held his face centimeters from Sakura's. _

"_Okay Kakashi, that's just wrong." Sasuke chimed in evenly. He had crossed the distance and had his hand on Kakashi's shoulder. Kakashi set back on his feet and winked at Sakura. _

_Sakura burst out laughing, "Never have I ever kissed Kakashi!" _

_Naruto stopped laughing and looked at her with wide eyes. She started squealing with laughter. _

"_And never will you ever kiss Kakashi," he returned with a smile creasing his uncovered eye. _

_Sakura slouched back against the tree. She couldn't help but miss the strange tone in Sasuke's voice as he pulled Kakashi from her._

* * *

The next morning felt so cold to Sakura. She packed up her camp threw water on the fire and headed out on the trail. She stopped for lunch on the border of the fire country. It had been easy to follow Karin's sent trail so far. She had been right about the girl forgetting to cover her tracks. With a little help from Pakkun (Kakashi had insisted she take him with her) Sakura had even been able to chase the sent onto fairy boats.

"We're getting close," Pakkun told her in the middle of the afternoon, "I would say we've go a few more hours of travel, not a few days."

Sakura's heart stopped at the idea. Her time to turn back was slipping away quickly now.

"That means you have to leave now doesn't it?"

"It would be best that way."

Sakura just nodded. Having the dog by her side was like having Kakashi by her side. Loosing Pakkun would be like loosing her comfort blanket.

"Right well, tell Kakashi not to worry about me. Hopefully this won't take me more than a few months."

Pakkun nodded, "Bye then Cherry Blossom Girl."

He poofed away before Sakura could comment about the nickname.

* * *

Sakura put on her disguised attitude, practiced her new voice and started sending out her chakra to mask her sent. She stopped briefly to pull Naruto's headband out of her pouch. She took a Kunai out of the holster on her thigh and dug into the metal. She crossed the Konoha symbol out with one thick line then fixed it onto her forehead.

Karin's sent was getting stronger now. Sakrua thanked Kakashi for teaching her how to follow paths like this, or else this whole mission would have been a bust. In the distance she spotted a bathouse on the outskirts of a small village. Karin's sent stopped there and was overpowered by one that was much too familiar; Sasuke's.

Sakura's heart stopped and her head flooded with many, many images of the teenage boy on the other side of that wall. She could see him sitting in the window. She shook her head. Lucky for her he was off in another world entirely as he stared out the window. She knew she would need to make a flashy entrance, or else Madara would send her packing. At best. He might just kill her.

Sakura took a deep breath. She had been picturing this entrance in the back of her head during the entire journey with Pakkun. Now she had to enact it. She touched a finger to Naruto's headband and prayed it would give her that dim wad's luck. Then she stepped out of the cover of the trees.

She concentrated on the chakra signatures of everyone in the bathouse, except Sasuke and Madara. She silently rejoiced at the fact that Madara would be present for this show. Once she had connected to the chakra systems of her targets she let go of her own overpowering chakra and smiled as everyone in her grasp was instantly knocked unconscious. It was a technique she usually used to subdue the people she was going to heal, but she figured it could have its offensive uses too. She hadn't been sure if she could use it on such a large scale, but she wasn't going to let Madara or Sasuke know this.

She launched phase two of her plan. Drawing on her recent training with Kakashi she captured the chakra signatures of Sasuke and Madara, but she knew they would not be easily influenced by her control methods, she also knew that they would be impervious to the few genjutsu techniques that she knew, so she opted for the methods she was most comfortable with.

Sasuke had already discovered the other members were out cold and was starting to go investigate. Madara must have simply felt the change in atmosphere because both men were now standing outside of the teahouse scanning the surroundings.

Sakura was outside the cover of the forest, but she was still safely hidden from sight. Covered by her own chakra like a shield. Kakashi had discovered that her technique could confuse even the strongest sharingan.

As if like clockwork both men activated their deadly eyes and Sakura stepped into range

still shielding herself with chakra. They locked onto her form and Sasuke appeared to become confused instantly.

Had he recognized her though her cleaver disguise.

"Little Tsunade?" He said finally and Sakura began to smile and laugh. Perfect.

"You could say that," she replied, "but unlike my mother, I could care less about Konoha."

Madara's eye widened a little.

"Thats right, I'm free. Kept captive by my parents who feared my strength would make me a target. Little did they know that their protection would make them my target. I came to personally congratulate the man who killed my father and left my mother in a state of permanent comatose."

"Pain is dead. Naruto killed him." Sasuke said sounding bored. He must have already guessed at what Sakura was getting at.

"What's your name?" Madara asked.

"Amaya." Sakura replied simply. "I don't have a last name. They didn't want it on the books." She added for good measure.

"What do you want?"

"To join your ranks. To destroy Konoha. To make a name for myself, one that doesn't have anything to do with my parents."

Sakura inwardly grimaced at her own words. 'Destroy Konoha?' what was she thinking?

"Hmmmmmm" Madara hummed thoughtfully. "You're the one that caused the change in atmosphere from such a great distance?"

"Yes."

"What did you do exactly?"

"Controlled their chakra."

"Interesting. What else can you do?"

"Well I take after my mother," she replied simply, "I am a top notch medic and a very scary woman."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. He was picturing another very scary woman. One with pink hair, but he banished the thought and stared at the woman in front of him. Something seemed familiar about her, something that had nothing to do with the fact that she looked strikingly like Tsunade. There was no missing the relation she had to that woman.

"Alright. Show us." Madara cooed.

Sakura smirked. Here came part two. She pumped chakra into her fist and crossed the field outside the village to the closest tree. She brought her arm back ever so slightly and punched the tree trunk at his base. It made a terrible cracking noise and plummeted to earth. Sakura beamed at the ease, she had made it look like she barley taped the tree with her fist.

She sent up a prayer of thanks to Naruto's lucky headband. She'd have to thank the dork if she ever got the chance.

"Mildly impressive." Madara admitted, "Nothing like what me or Sasuke here can do, but your chakra control intrigues me. She might just be more useful than that Karin girl. Especially since everyone here seems to get so banged up. We could use a _real_ medic."

Sasuke shrugged, "Now that one is available, we might as well take her. It's not like I wanted to bring Karin along. She is so... annoying."

Sakura's heart swelled at the sound of those words. She was happy to know Sasuke didn't have feelings for that read head bitch.

Madara turned to Sasuke, "Keep her, but she is your problem."

Sasuke nodded. He had a strange feeling about this girl, but something in his heart told him that he wanted to keep her around.


End file.
